Views From The Coach
Following our victory against Diamond FC on Saturday, we spoke to our Technical Director for his view on how the game went - here is what Andre had to say.
First of all, I am really proud of the guys for holding their nerve and pulling off a well deserved victory. It was a good team effort and what we saw during the game was that the hard work the guys have put in during pre-season was really starting to come together.
We started the game well, we scored two goals in the first 20 minutes of the game which was part of our strategy to come out very positively. I believe that we stuck to and followed our game plan for most of the first half. The players showed some good tactical awareness as well as performing some good technical skills as well.
We were really proud of our debutant, Asharn Hodge in the centre of defence. He did fantastically well for his first ever senior game and not having played football before. He put a lot of hard work in during pre-season and his performance showed that he deserved to be picked to play, he played a vital role. We also have to recognise the work that Matthew Brown put in too, he played very well at the heart of our defence and he was always in the right place at the right time.
I must also say how well our opposition played on the night, they like us were also very strategic and tactical. Especially in the second half, they really pushed us hard and kept us in our own half of the field for most of the second period. But again, our team was able to stand up and defend well.
We should also mention the work of Rene Thomas, Rene was our captain for the game and he really led the guys well. He took charge and responsibility, he was strong on the ball and showed good composure and distributed the ball well. Also, our young player - Javis Jones who is on the National team, played a really strong game as well. But we must remember that he is only 15 years old. He showed people why he should be in the starting XI for any team. He showed good composure, good strength and good fight.
Talking about fight - I think that is one of the characteristics that the guys showed during the game. They were really committed to challenging for the ball and they were able to come out with some good possessions from hard fought positions.
All in all, the coaching staff - Coach Guy, Coach Rodi and myself were all very very happy with the showing from the players. Of course we do recognise that there are some area's that we have to improve upon though. The season is very young, we have nine other games to go in this part of the tournament so there is a long road ahead. We are keen to try and give the players (as many as we can) a look in at the game. We have quite a few youngsters that will continue to develop and will be able to play pivotal roles in the team as we continue to move forward.
In closing, it was a really great effort from the team, a well deserved victory and we are setting the platform for a successful season.